Reflections

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, Recently in a podcast I was listening to between Alexander Shaia and Mirabai Starr, Shaia was talking about the passage which begins John’s gospel:  “This text is not about something that happened back then but is about the eternal now that is happening in us. That we are here in this moment because the Holy One is breathing us. And the Holy One is breathing, every cell in the cosmos, there’s one source . . . therefore we’re already brother and sister, not only to each person, but to every tree, every ounce of water, every

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, One of my heart’s great joys is the global nature of this community. To know that there are monks and artists spread all over the world who commit to this way of life brings me tremendous comfort and encouragement.  I feel grateful daily for this vibrant and meaningful work and the amazing people I get to collaborate with to help create our programs and offerings. I am thankful every day for you and for the many notes of encouragement I receive about what our work means to you.  One of the gifts of the pandemic has been

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, I am currently reading Outside the Lines: How Embracing Queerness Will Transform Your Faith by Mihee Kim-Kort. In her introduction she describes queerness as three things:  First, it is a posture which transgresses boundaries, specifically around gender and sexuality but also beyond these.  Second, it is playfulness, it experiments, it recognizes “the Holy Spirit in our wildest imagination” and makes room for our humanity, all the ways we stumble and fall. Third, it is a practice. “It is always an act of protest, a revolt, a demonstration, a rallying around people’s humanity and dignity when larger institutions threaten it. . .